International Business Machines Corporation

Lee G Friedman

Brent Tzion Hailpern

Lee W Hoevel

Yannick J Thefaine

An interface between a bus-oriented computer and a packet-based serial link. A block of data is transferred from the serial link to a buffer, whereupon the bus is issued a request for service. When the bus has read the buffer, the serial link carries an acknowledgement of the reading. If the buffer has not been read, no further block of data is transferred into it. The bus also writes a block of data into another buffer from which it is sent over the serial link if the previous such block has been acknowledged.

Interface between a computer bus and a serial packet link

A switching system or local area network is non-blocking, transmit-secure and employs a star type topology. A back plane uses n(n-1) bus lines to interconnect n ports. Each port can transmit on any one of n-1 bus lines depending on the identity of the destination port. Likewise, each port can receive from any of n-1 bus lines, depending on the identity of the transmitting port. Signalling as well as data flow on the same bus lines. Each of the ports includes a dedicated microprocessor along with an arbitrator to resolve contention. The ports further have transmit and receive multiplexers coupled between the back plane and an associated work station or information source/sink.

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Croton-on-Hudson, NY, United States of America

Lee G Friedman